Discovering Drugs Flashcards
who discovered penicillin?
Sir Alexander Fleming
what is aspirin and what does it come from?
it’s a pain relief and it comes from willow bark
what is penicillin and what does it come from?
penicillin is an antibiotic and it comes from penicillin mould
what is digitalis and where does it come from?
it’s used to treat high heart rate but lowering it and it comes from foxglove
how are most new drugs synthesised today?
by chemicals and with computer models
why is it difficult to find new medicines to kill bacteria?
it’s hard not to damage human cells
why do they need to find a new supply of antibiotics?
because the ones we have now are becoming resistant to bacteria
how does penicillin work?
stops binary fission occurring and it stops newly replicated bacteria cells from forming a cell wall
what is binary fission?
the process of asexual reproduction in bacteria. During binary fission, a single organism becomes two independent organisms.
